The church, once
dedicated to St. Andrew (it was called Sant'Andrea de
Aquarizariis), was re-built probably by Baccio Pontelli,
in 1482 as a votive offer for the peace between Sextus
IV and Ferrara. Alessandro VII Chigi commissioned Pietro
da Cortona to restore it in 1656; the convex fa9ade
relates to this work and connects the church to the
preceding town-planning scheme. The plan is in the old
15th century style, covered by an octagonal gallery and
dome, the work of Sangallo, and by a short nave of two
spans. Besides the fresco by Raphael, there are works by
Baldassarre, Peruzzi, Rosso Fiorentino, Marcello
Venusti, Orazio Gentileschi and others.
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Around the arch of the I chapel
ofthe baokedcom
Siena, Agostino Chigi (the first on the right), Raphael
painted a fresco portraying the four Sibyls: the Cumaean,
the Persian, the Phrygian and the Tiburtinan, who alternate
with angels bearing tablets and scrolls with the prophecies.
At the centre of the arch, there is a cherub with a torch.
The date of the cycle is still uncertain but thought to be
around 1514 and 1515. |
The design repeats the figures of
the Ancestors by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, which
had been inaugurated a short while before. The figures of
the Prophets, above the sibyls have been attributed to
Timoteo Viti, one of Raphael's students. The fresco was, for
many centuries, the only work by Sanzio visible to the
public, becoming a school for generations of artists. The
chapel was still incomplete on the death of Raphael and the
client, both dying in 1520. |
